Dry erase surfaces have virtually replaced chalkboards as the preferred writing surface for corporate use, training centers, schools, and a wide range of other end uses. Dry erase surfaces are most commonly provided in pre-manufactured board sizes. Conventional dry erase surfaces include porcelain, ceramic, melamine, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Dry erase PVC based wall coverings can also be used to create a dry erase surface. Other known dry erase coatings are two-part epoxy coatings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,074, issued to Shah, et al. discloses a dry erase, two part epoxy coating that is applied to a flexible substrate to which an adhesive is applied. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,815 issued to Macris et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,056 issued to Fox et al. disclose two-part epoxy coatings that may be applied to treated and untreated surfaces. Two-part epoxy type coatings are impractical in the field, requiring highly skilled labor and specific equipment for mixing and application. Furthermore, once the two parts of the epoxy are mixed, the product has a very limited pot life measured in hours, not days or weeks. Other coatings “proposed” for dry erase applications specify they be either in a water-based carrier or a solvent-based carrier.
Other methods of producing dry erase surfaces include fire-coated glazes, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,590 issued to Hasegawa et al. As disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,702, issued to Pitts et al., other one part coatings in the art require specialized curing such as high temperatures, ultraviolet (UV), and/or electron beam (EB) curing lights in order to exhibit favorable dry erase characteristics. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,327 issued Bragole et al. discloses a thermally cured paint. White is the predominate color being sold and utilized.
Pre-manufactured dry erase boards provide varying levels of performance over their life, depending on the writing surface used. With the less expensive melamine boards, performance is compromised for a lower price. The primary limitation on all pre-manufactured dry erase boards is that a customer is limited to only the sizes offered. While a dry erase wallcovering can be installed to cover an entire wall surface, corner to corner and floor to ceiling, a dry erase wallcovering requires an expensive installation utilizing skilled labor. Failure of the dry erase surface of the wallcovering will require removal of the dry erase wallcovering, wall preparation, and re-hanging new a dry erase wallcovering.
The inks of the typical, dry erase markers, such as Sanford Expo dry erase marker (Sanford Division of Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., 2707 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, Ill. 60523) will not penetrate a dry erase surface, thereby erasing is accomplished with minimal effort. Those standard markers will not “ghost”, and cleaners, such as Sanford Blue Expo white board cleaner (containing 2-Butoxy Ethanol/Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol), may be used to maintain dry erase surfaces.